The UTRGV Department of Theatre is working on the production of Frankenstein in Oct., just in time for the Halloween season.
Associate Professor for the Department of Theatre Brian Warren is the director of the Frankenstein production. Warren has directed more than 40 plays for UTRGV since 2002.
Warren says this iteration of Frankenstein will follow the book rather than the movie that many people are familiar with.
“Interestingly, a lot of people don’t know. They know the movie of the big green monster, but they don’t necessarily know the book. … I think we’re going to show new things in the sense that most people don’t know this.”
Warren explained that the original book, written by Mary Shelley, had scenes and events that don’t happen in the movie, such as the bride of the creature being created in the same book rather than in a sequel like in the movies and another part where the monster watches a family in hiding.
Theatre design junior Mateo Ramirez, who is the stage manager for Frankenstein, says that the show will not be the “campy” Frankenstein people are used to.
“There’s gonna be prosthetics, there’s gonna be blood, there’s gonna be intestines, there’s gonna be period costumes.”
Biology sophomore Luke Franco, who plays multiple characters in the production, echoed Ramirez giving a verbal glimpse of the creature.
“Another major part of the horror is the creature itself…true to the book, like a corpse…fleshy, grotesque, but with that humanity.”
Theatre sophomore Diego Sifuentes, who is playing a couple of characters in the play, hopes the audience takes away some substance from the production in addition to the entertainment.
“It covers two topics, it covers one, kind of abandonment…and then the creature kind of trying to live with the fact that its in a world that it didn’t ask to be in…I just want people to come out understanding those two sides.”
The play will run from Oct. 14-16 at the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre. Students, faculty and staff can buy tickets with a proper UTRGV ID for $5.
For more information, visit the UTRGV Box Office website.
This is Rodolfo Alvarado for Vaquero Radio.
